BU-ISU: New faces, same old rivalry

A record 15 players get their first look at the Interstate 74 rivalry between Illinois State and Bradley on Wednesday night at Carver Arena.

Could the matchup be taking on a less intense feel?

Participants on both sides think not.

“All these kids have played in rivalry games prior, so they understand the concept,” BU coach Geno Ford said. “There’s no denying this is bigger than where they came from. But the older guys we have who’ve been through it have talked to the younger guys about what to expect.”

ISU’s Nick Zeisloft and Kaza Keane have experienced the rivalry, while Bradley’s Walt Lemon, Jordan Prosser, Tyshon Pickett and Mason Alwan have been part of the series.

“It’s a fun rivalry for alums, including myself,” ISU coach Dan Muller said. “We’ve had great battles over the years. We talked about it last night before practice. We talked about the importance of the game to our fans and our alums. Bradley has a lot of new guys, too, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.”

Lemon, whose 27 points in last year’s Carver clash keyed an 83-77 BU comeback win, said he’s spoken to his new teammates about what to expect.

“I’ve reminded ’em this game will be one like they’ve never experienced before,” Lemon said. “I told ’em, ‘Don’t be nervous. Just come out and be aggressive.’ After a while, they’ll understand how important it is because it’ll probably be the most packed game we’ll have all year.

“We have more guys who’ve been through it so that gives us a little edge. We understand how important this game is to the Bradley program and the Bradley fans.”

A couple of other edges favor Bradley (8-13, 3-5): The home court (BU is 3-1 in Missouri Valley Conference home games) and ISU (11-9, 4-4) being without injured center John Jones. He broke his right foot in Saturday’s loss at Indiana State.

“I feel really bad for John,” Muller said. “We have some hopes of possibly getting him back this season. (Backup 6-foot-9 post) Jamaal Samuel will have to step up.”

The other Redbirds center, 6-10 freshman Reggie Lynch, is expected to start along with the four guards who make ISU the fastest team in the league.

“They’re great in transition,” Ford said. “And they may be the best in the league at attacking the rim. They’re loaded with juco kids who can get their own shot.

“We’ve not been good at guarding penetration. So it’ll be a contrasting battle of styles. We’ve gotta keep the ball out of the lane and get back in transition.”

Conversely, Muller’s concerns begin with Lemon.

“He’s shooting well from 3, he’s playing with a lot of confidence, and he’s fast as can be,” Muller said. “He dominates the game at times. They’ve got other guys who can score, too, like (Auston) Barnes, (Tyshon) Pickett and (Omari) Grier. They’re really long and they’re good on the boards.”

Illinois State is coming off a pair of losses to the Valley’s top two teams — Wichita State and Indiana State. In those games, the Redbirds hit just 5 of 44 3-point attempts, plummeting ISU deep into 10th place for 3-point percentage in MVC games at .292.

Bradley, which certainly had its trey struggles in nonconference play, is up to .357 in league games, good for fifth. That part of the game becomes paramount for Bradley since ISU will press and zone because of its lack of size.

“We’ve got to take care of the ball and make jump shots,” Ford said. “We’ve shot the ball pretty well in the league, and it’ll be key we make shots against them.”

It’ll also be key not to get too caught up in the moment.

“You’ve gotta control your emotion,” Ford said. “You’ve gotta be able to focus on the possessions and not just the sheer raw emotion of playing in front of a big crowd against an opponent you desperately want to beat.”

All of those things together — focus, emotion and desperation, not to mention geographic proximity and fan overlap — are what have always made this a great rivalry, new players or not.

Dave Reynolds can be reached at 686-3210 or at dreynolds@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @davereynolds2.

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